Ever Ever After
by AerienMyxa
Summary: HP/DM, character death. Harry won the war, but he also lost. 'Without him, I am nothing. Without him, I will never be happy. So I'm going to follow him, to be happy forever and ever after.'


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Disclaimer: Harry Potter does NOT belong to me. They belong to the lady named J.K Rowling.

_*Warnings: Character Death_

_Pairings: Hp/Dm_

_Enjoy!_

**Ever Ever After**

The battlefield was filled with loud incantations of spells and flashes of light. Duelers dodged everywhere; blood covered almost every inch of the ground. Screams of pain and despair sounded throughout the field, and each and every one of them rang in the fighters' hearts, spurring the remaining on to battle even harder.

Harry Potter was no different. Sweat trickled down his neck, his hand clenching firmly around his wand, casting repetitive spells, while he dodged, twisted and turned as if in a ferocious dance with Death himself.

As the enemy he was engaged in battle with keeled over and died, he swept his eyes around the chaotic scene. What was once the peaceful and beautiful Hogwarts was now tainted with the darkness of anguish and blood, the fear and adrenaline in the air was so thick that it was nearly tangible.

He caught a flash of blond hair and the Hogwarts robes at the corner of his eyes and sighed silently in relief. He was still alive. Thank Merlin.

* * *

Draco Malfoy, heir of the Malfoys, Prince of Slytherin, and most importantly his one and only love. They had resolved their differences, or rather, were forced to when Lucius Malfoy requested Dumbledore to protect his family from the Dark Lord. In return, he would spy for the Order. Dumbledore had agreed, for he had hoped that young Draco would not turn towards the Dark.

One could just imagine the suffering the Malfoys went through when they first stepped into Grimmauld Place. Looks of suspicion and insults were thrown onto them from all directions. The Weasleys, especially the twins, played nasty tricks on Draco every now and then, expressing their displeasure.

Before Harry returned to the Grimmauld Place from a nasty summer with the Dursleys, he had been warned of the Malfoys presence. Preparing to get into a conflict with Draco when he first stepped in, the sight that greeted him horrified him.

The Weasley kids were laughing at the sight of a Dung-bombed Draco Malfoy, and even Molly Weasley was hiding a smile. The other Order members did not even lift a finger to help out; instead, they simply stood there and watched the scene being played out, contributing to a chuckle here and there.

Draco's usually pale face had turned red; his hands clenched together, lips pursed tightly in anger and embarrassment. His whole frame had been trembling; muscles in his arm taut and strained. His head had been bowed, as if hiding from the whole world, wanting to escape into a hole and hide there forever.

It had triggered a long-ago memory in Harry, who had been bullied all his life. Since young, the Harry-hunting and punching games Dudley 'played' had tormented him, leaving a significant scar in Harry's mental state. The Dursleys continued neglect and lack of affection towards him, and the later expectations the whole Wizarding world had made him doubtful of love, made him afraid of destiny, afraid to hope. Harry could remember many a time where he had been in the same predicament; embarrassed, humiliated, helpless and exhausted.

The first tear that rolled down Draco's cheek did it for him. Before he knew it, he lost his temper.

"What in the world are you doing? Do you really think its fun? Why don't you guys ever think before you do something? You people are members of the Order of the Phoenix, an organization that believes in fair play and equal rights for both wizards and Muggles! All of you claim to be pure, claim to be good, but what do I see here? You are laughing at the expense of someone else! Instead of torture, you humiliate. Instead of cruelty, you manipulate. Instead of monarchy, you use your own means to justify the ends. So tell me, are you any different from the Dark side?"

Out of the whole audience, Draco Malfoy had been most astonished and taken aback. Six years of enmity, and he was still willing to stand up for him, even though he could have had stood aside and laughed along. Who exactly was Harry Potter? That was when Draco decided to know the real Potter.

* * *

"Why?" Draco whispered softly, not wanting to alert any of the Order members who were enjoying their dinner downstairs.

"Because I understand, and because I know you've changed. I saw it, when you refused to blast your snarky temper at them even though they had gone too far. I saw it, when you restrained yourself to avoid more disasters. And I also saw it, when you refused the Dark Lord and joined the Light despite of all the glory you would have had," Harry replied evenly, meeting Draco's gaze.

Mutual understanding passed between each other through their eyes, and acceptance settled in both of their hearts.

"Truce?" Draco offered, extending his hand.

Harry grabbed hold of his hand, smiling.

* * *

Oddly enough, their relationship improved by leaps and bounds after their truce. Perhaps it had been due to similar personalities, where both were stubborn, humorous, and sarcastic. Or maybe it's because they had similar histories, where both had faced betrayal, deceit, death of loved ones, vulnerability, and loneliness.

They were both lonely boys; Harry who had been afraid to even hope for someone who would understand and accept his history, for someone to truly love him, and Draco who could hardly dare to wish for a day to finally take off his cold and cruel mask, which had been impossible even among his friends, just because they were Slytherins. Perhaps that had been why they had first began to look at each other in a different light, began to hope that it would be possible for the other similar boy to understand and know himself.

However, nothing could explain the fact why it had felt so right when their lips first crashed together under the pale moonlight in Harry's room.

* * *

"Ever and ever after?" Harry murmured softly in Draco's ear.

"Ever and ever after."

* * *

'The strain is getting to me', thought Harry. He needed to finish this off soon. Wiping off the dripping sweat on his forehead, he scanned his surroundings quickly and realized that the battle was coming to an end.

Hundreds of fighters had long left the battlefield, leaving only a few others. Each of the scant few wore determined faces, single-mindedly fighting towards possible victory.

There, he spotted him. Standing in the middle of the battleground was Voldemort, clad in Slytherin green and silver battle robes which had been splashed with dark red blood of his defeated enemies. His crimson eyes flashed with vindictive pleasure as he casted multiple Crucios in quick repetition, relishing in the anguished screams of the victims.

Blazing with resolve, Harry casted a Cutting curse at Voldemort, who somehow sensed it and stepped to the side, attention now on the Boy-Who-Lived.

"Harry Potter," Voldemort hissed, spatting his name as if one would a disgusting creature.

"Voldemort," Harry growled back threateningly.

Both life-long enemies glared at each other murderously, willing each other dead with their eyes. They circled around each other, scrutinizing the enemy's movement. At a silent signal, both wands raised and casted the first spell, marking the start of the battle.

* * *

At the corner of his eyes, Draco could see the start of the final battle – the battle between the Dark Lord and Harry.

'Please be safe,' Draco prayed silently.

Lethal spells flew everywhere, each coming from the fighting enemies. Members from both sides watched the battle from the sidelines, each silently cheering for their side.

As the battle progressed, Draco grew more and more worried for Harry. It was evident that Harry was tiring, and Voldemort knew it too, for he had started to cast his spells with more fervent.

Suddenly, Harry fell to the ground to avoid an incoming Killing curse, and he quickly rolled to one side and threw three Killing curses consecutively. Caught by surprise, he succeeded to dodge the first curse but was caught straight in the face by the next two. With a blinding flash of green light, the final battle was over, and the body of Voldemort lay on the ground, wide blank eyes facing the blue sky, dead.

About to run forward to hug Harry, Draco suddenly saw a blast of Avada Kedavra green light rushing towards with him. The last thing he heard was an agonized scream for his name.

* * *

I won. But I lost.

My Draco, wake up, please. I beg of you. Don't leave me alone.

Please.

* * *

The crowd around them averted their eyes, each radiating sympathy and sadness, but Harry could care less about them now. His eyes only saw Draco, whose pale face now looked so gaunt in death, his usual lively eyes dead.

Draco was all he had that held his sanity. How was he going to live on?

Flashes of memories appeared in his mind, reminding him of all the good days they had, despite the short time they had been together.

"_I love you, Harry." The first he ever said._

"_Your hair is so messy! How in the world did you stand it?" That was the day he insisted on dressing him up._

"_There's no way I'm going to let you off the makeover this time," The time when Draco was adamant to give him a new wardrobe._

"_The stars are so pretty…As pretty as you are." The night where they laid down side by side on the roof, looking at the stars._

"_That had been wonderful…" Draco gasped as he relished in the afterglow of the orgasm. That was the night when Harry first lost his virginity to Draco. _

"_I know it's belated, but Happy Birthday." The first birthday he had celebrated with Draco._

"_Ever and ever after," the eternal promise._

"You lied," Harry whispered brokenly, tears streaking his face as he looked at the still body, "It was supposed to be ever ever after, but you lied."

He choked on the next words he was about to say, and began to sob silently, his shoulders trembling, tear tracks marring his face.

Taking a deep breath to briefly still his sobs, Harry reached over and caught the cold and clammy hand with his own, smiling bitterly, tears still continuing to flow, and murmured, "I love you, forever and ever." Slowly, he knelt over Draco's still form and pressed a deep kiss onto his lips, conveying all the love, affection, regret, pain and the thousands of emotions he felt into it.

* * *

In the deep of that night, Harry made his way to the newly dug grave that laid Draco, and laid himself beside the grave. Silently, he pinned a note onto the grave before turning his wand onto himself. With a weary and bitter smile, he whispered, "I want to be with you. I want to be happy. So I have to do this… "

With a final whisper, he ended his life, "Avada Kedavra."

As he fell into the dark abyss of death, he heard a familiar voice murmuring into his ear, "I did not lie to you. From now on, it would really be forever and ever after."

* * *

Hermione slowly unfolded the note, tears welling up in her eyes as she scanned it.

'He taught me how to love, he taught me how to hope, he taught me how to be happy, and most importantly he taught me how to live. Because of him, I learnt to believe in destiny, learnt to believe that we were meant to be, learnt to believe in a brighter day and learnt to believe in love. Please forgive me for being so selfish, but he is my life. Without him, I'm nothing. Without him, I will merely be a shadow of my former self. Without him, I will never be happy. So bless me, whoever is reading this. Bless me, for I would be happy forever and ever after.'

**~End~**

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